Goal 5: The Atacama desert is blooming, thanks to the women of the “El Hueso” cooperative

We are near Taltal in Chile for the latest installment in our series on Goal 5, “Gender Equality,” the fifth of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, we are at the El Hueso de Taltal Olive Producers Cooperative which is dedicated to olive farming for the production of oil. Here we met Ana Alanís Palacio and Eustaquia Araya, two of the female entrepreneurs who manage the cooperative together with another eight women and one man. They told us what it means to be women entrepreneurs in today’s rural Chile, how they do their work and the progress that was possible in their business, thanks to our collaboration. A desert in bloom We are in the sun-drenched coastal desert of the Antofagasta region, in a small valley (quebrada, in Spanish) where a favorable microclimate enables the cultivation of olives and the production of oil. As Eustaquia Araya explains, “it’s very hot, but during the night there is the camanchaca [an atmospheric phenomenon typical of this area, a kind of god that originates from the sea – ed] which helps keep the olive trees moist.” Originally, the valley can’t have seemed very inviting. Its name is “El Hueso” (“The bone”) because in ancient times there was a whale bone at the entrance to the valley,” Ana Alanís says: “It indicated that here there was a Chango settlement (the Changos were an ancient pre-Hispanic population that lived on South America’s Pacific coast).” Over the last twenty years, the work of agricultural companies like El Hueso has, however, transformed the landscape. “Here, we are saying that the desert has flourished,” says Eustaquia Araya. “Before there were only mountains, while now our valley is green with many olive trees. The tourists who come here are astonished when they see so much agriculture: in the desert, but how?” “A fantastic machine” Now El Hueso has made a major leap in terms of quality. Thanks to an agreement with Enel Green Power and the Institute of Agricultural Investigations (INIA), the cooperative has new technological equipment for oil production: “An amazing machine,” in the simple but expressive words of Ana Alanís, who adds: “We have thus gone from an artisanal system to a semi-industrial one. In this way, if before we processed one hundred kilos of olives in twelve hours, now we only need two hours.” And that’s not all: the people who work here have received advanced training, both for using the new equipment and for improving the quality of the oil, assessing the maturity of the olives and the best harvest times in a more efficient manner. “This helps us to obtain a quality product, with better characteristics. We will have excellent oil,” says Eustaquia Araya, with a certain satisfaction. New prospects are thus opening up for the cooperative. As Ana Alanís explains, “we are working to obtain the protected geographical indication.” This is a seal of quality that will accompany El Hueso’s oil, which is unique for the characteristics of the climate and of the saline soil. From a marketing point of view, we are cultivating another dream: “We have great expectations for the national market and we are also thinking about exports,” Eustaquia Araya says optimistically. Female Entrepreneurs The obstacles that the cooperative had to overcome also included gender bias. According to Ana Alanís, “being a woman entrepreneur in Chile isn’t easy. There is a very macho mentality.” Eustaquia Araya is of the same opinion. “A woman must make twice the effort and she must persevere in order to reach her goal. And that’s what we have done.” The success of the cooperative can now be an example for other Chilean women. “Believe in yourselves, believe in your ambitions, in your vision for the future. Have faith that a woman can do it,” is the advice of Ana Alanís. And once again Eustaquia Araya is on the same page: “Have a clear objective about where you want to go. And, even if you encounter obstacles on the way, you mustn’t stop. Be persistent.”

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Goal 5: The Atacama desert is blooming, thanks to the women of the “El Hueso” cooperative

Goal 5: The Atacama desert is blooming, thanks to the women of the “El Hueso” cooperative

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